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Staff
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Last Active 01-01-70 12:00 am
Joined 01-01-70
Review Comments 43,955
| Best User Reviews: February 2022
To make this a bit more competitive, only "new release" reviews will be counted. New releases are qualified as being within 3 months of the official release date. Keep on reviewing older albums as well, but for the sake of identifying up-and-coming talent, this is an easier way for me to organize things. | | 1 |  | Dark Matter (MEX)
Dystopian
It is frigid. No faint breeze interrupts the still night air around you, nor does the whirring of distant car engines. You hear only the faint pattering of a half-busted city light, and the only other light greeting you is the moon's solemn glow peeking through the dulled haze of a musty, cloud-strewn sky. It is a biting feeling, a faint sting that pierces your skin. Such is the canvas upon which Dark Matter procures its painting, Dystopian. --dedes | | 2 |  | Korn
Requiem
For those who yearn for the classic components of a Korn song, namely wild verses featuring odd, angular guitar riffs, giant singalong choruses, and sudden breakdowns of the mental and instrumental sort, Requiem will not disappoint. “Lost in the Grandeur” unfolds with a stutter-stop guitar riff that sounds simultaneously aggressive and progressive. Album standout “Hopeless and Beaten” lurches from bludgeoning riffs and growling to a peculiar chorus that could be best described as upbeat despite the lyrical histrionics. Spanning nine songs and clocking in at just over thirty minutes, Requiem benefits from the absence of excess which enables the melodrama to be a little more tolerable than on previous releases. --Teal | | 3 |  | Seventh Day Slumber
Death By Admiration
"The latter half, however, delivers the cut gem of this collection in the form of "Landmines," which manages to dial up the heaviness with downtuned guitars and slick melodic hooks, capped off with an exquisitely-executed guitar solo. The closing number "Can't Say Sorry Enough" certainly doesn't disappoint either - while it's predictably an acoustic guitar-led ballad, Seventh Day Slumber managed to resist the temptation to ramp up the volume and instead backed it up with nothing more than shakers, soft strings, and - surprisingly - a mandolin. It's a fantastic way to end an album like this." --Clifgard | | 4 |  | Anna von Hausswolff
Live at Montreux Jazz Festival
"On this stunning live album, Anna von Hausswolff, a rather small woman in stature, stands unbelievably like a giant before the audience. This record amazingly captures the concert’s essence that goes from absolutely horrifying to categorically uplifting. For those who went to one of those concerts, this will be a time-capsule back to that night. For those who doesn’t, here is just an energy fragment of Anna’s unique performance." -Zig | | 5 |  | Wovenhand
Silver Sash
"Wearing these different skins, I still feel like the record rarely breaks away from a sort of meditative stomp. This density and Edwards reeling off of lines with a specific focused cadence creates a grand atmosphere, but I find myself missing some of the more delicate aspects of their sound. "The Lash" finds some of that with filigreed guitar work and vocals that sound like the wind in an abandoned monastery. I've always enjoyed the unexpected but elastic resolutions found in their more folk based sound, coupled with almost lacy guitar. "8 of 9" contains some guitar picking that reminds me of water falling on zinc, and it's gorgeous - I miss those interludes and that innate Wovenhand sense of yore. The unified power of this record can wear down a listener looking for a bit more melody and lilt. However, if you're primed for a majestic, hypnotic journey, "Silver Sash" is your palanquin over the palm leaves." --fogza | | 6 |  | Amorphis
Halo
"While Amorphis is definitely has not become creatively bankrupt or have lost any spark within their music, the album still falters from the vast majority of it being very predictable. They have made very few changes within their sound since Silent Waters. Despite the fact they have refined their sound during this time and have made it better, they do need to leave their comfort zone more often. As a result of this, more than a few songs off the record do become forgettable or unremarkable. These songs are not bad by any means and are solid listens but afterwards, they instantly left my mind." --Zac124 | | 7 |  | William Ryan Key
Everything Except Desire
"It's delightfully surprising how enjoyable and likable each of the five songs on this EP actually are. "Face In A Frame" is like Coldplay, Owl City, and Gotye in a hazy, delicate blender, with Key's echo-heavy vocals drifting through a colorful, woodsy soundscape of rising and falling synth arpeggios. The reversed-piano intro of "Brighton" segues perfectly into the steady starlit beat of the tune, with heavily-reverberated drums, subtle keys, and headphone-saturating bass painting a gorgeous backdrop to Key's melodic, harmonized vocals. The string pads and nostalgic, bitcrushed melodies of "Heavens" add a wistful texture and color to a simple four-on-the-floor rhythm and Key's poppy, bittersweet vocal line, and when the rollicking drum machines and call-and-response vocals come swinging in during the chorus, everything ties together into a neat, digital bow." --ghostalgeist | | 8 |  | Once Human
Scar Weaver
"One aspect Scar Weaver struggles with is its lack of tempo changes and the resulting reliance on mid-tempo. Combined with the competent, but ultimately linear writing, one could argue that the album as a whole is a somewhat stale experience from a technical standpoint. That said, Max Karon, who wrote most of it, always finds a way to inject some weird little details in order to lend the songs more texture. For example, Deadlock (featuring an acquired-taste-y, definitely 90s-up-the-wazoo performance by Robb Durst Flynn), showcases gradually descending chords reminiscent of Car Bomb’s work. Little twists and quirky ideas like that more often than not mitigate the absence of splashy S-tier riffs. Pick scraping, high-pitched tritones and feedback loops with reverb - all in there, all super 90s." --NexCeleris | | 9 |  | Dark Millennium
Acid River
"There are so many great twists and turns on this album that you really didn’t get back then. The level of progressive songwriting, combined with the fundamentals of death-doom riffs and slow builds is pretty ingenious. The songs “Lunacy”, and “Godforgotten” are great examples of how Dark Millennium successfully wrote songs that build in one way, say with those dripping, eerie chord progressions, then detour your expectations with unexpected tempo shifts, all while building up to a satisfying, evil climax (sending you into immutable despair)." --WattPheasant | | 10 |  | Kim Petras
Slut Pop
"The closer provides a much-needed break from things, with slightly more creative lyrics as well as a flirtation with color and melody near the halfway mark. A shameless yet highly listenable rip-off of Discovery-era Daft Punk, it unfortunately fades out just as quickly as it gets interesting. But even if the closer had kept things up a bit longer, it wouldn't come close to saving the EP. Regressive, boring, and flavorless, Slut Pop is easily the biggest disappointment of the year so far. It might make folx at the 18+ club want to party 'till they die, but it's truly a blight on the modern pop landscape." --normaloctagon | | 11 |  | Goncalo Almeida and Dirk Serries
Live at OZO LAND
"What’s remarkable about this record is that despite this unorthodox approach, despite a lack of common melodies and rhythm, Almeida and Serries manage to keep things interesting and accessible. Experimental jazz can be estranging or too pretentious to many listeners. I myself do not have a very high tolerance for this kind of thing usually. Yet the mysterious, eerie ambience that this duo creates is completely engrossing. Slow, gracious playing alternates with energetic, jittery sections, neither of which go on for too long. There is room for extensive solo parts, for dramatic pauses, but often the two instruments play together. It’s an immensely intimate record, the live setting might have to do with that, but the clear, warm production certainly helps too. It feels like you are there, witnessing them unfold these strange pieces just an arm’s length away." --Trifolium | | 12 |  | Kanye West
Donda 2
"Outside looking in, Donda 2 is hilarious. From the unhinged social media promotion, to the totally botched listening party, to the woefully overpriced Donda stem players, to being more of a Skete dedication than an actual dedication to his mother who gives the record its namesake - everything about Donda 2 is so absurd you can’t help but laugh. But listening to the album itself reveals there is nothing humorous about Kanye’s situation. Donda 2 is a harrowing cry for help under the guise of a pop album. This isn't 47 minutes of bangers for the club - this is 47 minutes of Kanye staring into an abyss that has been growing since Donda West passed away 15 years ago. This is Kanye at his most unfiltered and it's compellingly so in all the wrong ways. Kanye has been on a personal and artistic downward spiral that is now symbolized by Donda 2, the worst album he has released. I hope he gets the help he needs because knowing him this isn't true rock bottom yet." --TVC15 | |
Sowing
03.02.22 | Also, if I came across more than 1 quality review from the same user, I just picked the one that I liked best personally. There are some good reviewers on this site and it would be unnecessary to fill up the list with multiple pieces from the same writer. | dedex
03.02.22 | very dope | tyman128
03.03.22 | always love to see the user reviews getting some love, remember feeling that boost of confidence when mine were featured here
all really solid reviews! | Gnocchi
03.03.22 | hey cool : ] | Dewinged
03.03.22 | That fogza review of Wovenhand is fire, agree. | Teal
03.03.22 | Thank you, Sowing. I really appreciate it. | Koris
03.03.22 | Loving this list concept! Good job guys | fogza
03.03.22 | Wow thanks Sowing and Dewi, appreciate it! I really enjoyed the Donda 2 review, that was incredible. And everything norma does is magic, to quote the initimable sting | Trifolium
03.03.22 | Thanks for 11 Sowing ✨💖
Lots of lovely reviews here agreed. | JesperL
03.03.22 | oh damn can't believe i missed a trifrev
but all of these are great, esp love fogza's wovenhand one (also bc that album is heavily overlooked!!) | parksungjoon
03.03.22 | >only "new release" reviews will be counted.
ah... | fogza
03.03.22 | "oh damn can't believe i missed a trifrev"
yep i read trif's now and it almost convinced me to listen to experimental jazz... almost... | Trifolium
03.03.22 | Hihihihi almost!!!! What would it take to get you over the line? | Sunnyvale
03.03.22 | Good stuff! Always like these lists. | fogza
03.03.22 | It would have to not be experimental jazz, which even someone as awesome as you cannot change 😔 | Trifolium
03.03.22 | Hmmmmmmmmmmm, perhaps I can write them a letter asking to make a sweet weirdo of an indie album, that could work? Perhaps? | Zac124
03.03.22 | Thanks for 6! It's greatly appreciated. | fogza
03.03.22 | i would never ask them to give up their principles. maybe you can just review something in the future that's uncomplicated and designed for plebs, and i'll give that a go | TVC15
03.05.22 | Just now seeing this list, tysm for the shout Sowing! I've considered that closing paragraph to be some of the best writing I've done so it's nice to see that be the blurb | Demon of the Fall
03.07.22 | great work everyone, some stellar little excerpts (I haven't read every review, admittedly).
'yep i read trif's now and it almost convinced me to listen to experimental jazz... almost...'
this, but for real. I actually might do. | WattPheasant
03.26.22 | Hi Sowing, thank you for including my review of Dark Millennium in your monthly best User review list. I want to start spending this year improving my writing by getting feedback from more experienced writers on Sputnik Music. | budgie
03.26.22 | imagine reviewing music | Gnocchi
03.26.22 | Imagine being a rainbow'd speckled sparrow |
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